Intraocular Pressure Changes and Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Inhibitor Use in Various Retinal Diseases: Long-Term Outcomes in Routine Clinical Practice: Data from the Fight Retinal Blindness! Registry

Abstract

Purpose: To report long-term changes in intraocular pressure (IOP) in eyes receiving vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) inhibitors for various retinal conditions over 12 and 24 months in routine clinical practice.

Design: Retrospective analysis of data from a prospectively designed observational outcomes registry, the Fight Retinal Blindness!

Participants: Treatment-naïve eyes receiving monotherapy with VEGF inhibitors (ranibizumab [0.5 mg], aflibercept [2 mg], or bevacizumab [1 mg]) with at least 3 injections from December 2013 through December 31, 2018, and at least 12 months of follow-up.

Methods: Intraocular pressure was measured at each clinical visit for all eyes as part of routine practice.

Main outcome measures: The primary outcome was the mean change in IOP (in millimeters of mercury) at 12 months. The following secondary IOP outcome measures were investigated at 12 and 24 months: (1) mean change in IOP from baseline and (2) proportion of clinically significant IOP increase defined as an elevation of at least 6 mmHg to an IOP of more than 21 mmHg at any point during the follow-up.

Results: We identified 3429 treatment-naïve eyes (395 receiving bevacizumab, 1138 receiving aflibercept, and 1896 receiving ranibizumab) with complete IOP data from 3032 patients with 12 months of follow-up data, of which 2125 (62%) had 24 months of follow-up data. The overall mean IOP change was -0.5 mmHg (95% confidence interval CI, -0.6 to -0.3 mmHg) at 12 months and -0.4 mmHg (95% CI, -0.6 to -0.3 mmHg) at 24 months, whereas the proportions of clinically significant IOP increases were 5.6% and 8.8%, respectively. A lower mean IOP change and fewer IOP elevations at 12 and 24 months was observed in eyes receiving aflibercept than in those receiving bevacizumab and ranibizumab (P ≤ 0.01 for both comparisons at each time point and outcome). Eyes with pre-existing glaucoma demonstrated more IOP increases over 12 and 24 months (odds ratio [OR], 2.2 [95% CI, 1.2-3.8; P = 0.012] and 2.1 [95% CI, 1.1-3.8; P = 0.025], respectively).

Conclusions: Mean IOP did not change significantly from baseline to 12 and 24 months in eyes receiving VEGF inhibitors, whereas clinically significant IOP elevations occurred in a small proportion of eyes. Aflibercept was associated with fewer clinically significant IOP elevations, whereas eyes with pre-existing glaucoma were at a higher risk.